On Oct. 22, 2015, 18 months after winning a silver medal in freestyle skiing at the Sochi Olympics, Gus Kenworthy tweeted “I am gay.” In a coming-out story in ESPN the Magazine, Kenworthy described one of the most stressful moments in his sports career: the time he found his “stomach twisting into knots” when a TV producer at the X Games asked him if he had a girlfriend in the crowd. Kenworthy told ESPN the Magazine’s Alyssa Roenigk that he was both stressed out by the question and saddened by the fact that the cameras wouldn’t focus on his boyfriend. “I’ve never had a TV boyfriend,” he said. “That’s actually something I want so bad—a TV boyfriend.”

At the Pyeonchang Games, Kenworthy has that TV boyfriend. On Saturday night, NBC showed the skier sharing a brief kiss with his partner Matthew Wilkas before taking his first qualifying run in the freestyle skiing event. NBC didn’t make a big to do about the peck on the lips. Announcer Luke Van Valin simply identified Wilkas as the Olympian’s boyfriend, adding, “Just a tremendous amount of support coming to Gus Kenworthy.”

Earlier on Saturday, Kenworthy posted a photo of himself with Wilkas on Instagram, writing that he felt “very lucky to have him, my family, my agent and some amazing friends here in Korea cheering me on.”

Also among Kenworthy’s supporters at these Olympics is out figure skater Adam Rippon, who the skier smooched on the cheek earlier in the games.

Rippon and Kenworthy have both criticized Vice President Mike Pence, the head of the U.S. delegation to the Winter Games, for his reactionary stances on LGBTQ issues.

Kenworthy, who earlier this week broke his right thumb and suffered a hematoma on his left hip, managed to qualify for the freestyle skiing finals, which will be televised by NBC later on Saturday night.* After his second qualifying run, NBC showed Kenworthy’s TV boyfriend in the crowd. Wilkas was holding a rainbow flag that said, “WE LOVE U GUS!”

Correction, Feb. 17, 2018: This post originally misstated the dates of the freestyle skiing qualification round and finals. Both events are scheduled for Sunday Feb. 18 in Korea and will be broadcast on Saturday Feb. 17 in the United States.

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Josh Levin

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Gus Kenworthy Spent the Last Olympics Closeted. This Time He Kissed His Boyfriend on NBC.

LOS ANGELES — The participants in the NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest used wardrobe changes and the art of imitation throughout their performances. While Utah Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell was no exception, his talent proved that he didn’t need all the flash and flair.

Mitchell won the glamour event during All-Star Saturday night by wearing a Vince Carter throwback jersey and executing a reverse, spinning 360-degree windmill dunk. After the impressive feat, Mitchell found the nearest camera and imitated Carter’s “It’s over” bluster and gesture from the 2000 contest the former Raptors great won going away. Mitchell earned a 48 score for the dunk, defeating Cleveland Cavaliers forward Larry Nance Jr. in the finals.

“I wanted it so badly,” Mitchell said. “This is one of my favorite events of All-Star Weekend.

“I haven’t made that dunk in half a year. I tried it two night ago, didn’t make it. Tried it this morning, didn’t make it. So to make it tonight, I was excited.”

Mitchell’s imagination came in handy, which was evident in his performance. When asked how he prepared for the event, he said he’s been looking forward to a night like this since childhood.

“Believe it or not, I’ve been preparing for this since I was a kid,” Mitchell said. “I didn’t know I was gonna be able to jump this high, so I added some new tricks.”

In the first round, Nance, the son of the inaugural slam dunk champion, showed a touch of showmanship with a nod to his past. Nance incorporated the entertainers Quick Change, who, as their name suggests, speedily change clothes to the delight of fans across NBA arenas.

Nance, shrouded inside a four-side curtain, emerged a few moments later in his father’s Phoenix Suns throwbacks — short shorts and high socks included. Then, Nance pulled off a replica of his father’s winning dunk from 1984’s event, but needed two attempts, which might have resulted in his 44 score.

However, Nance came up with a complete original idea in the finals — a double-alley oop dunk. Nance threw the ball off the glass, caught it and with a quick motion, tossed it once more but slamming the ball home. The dunk produced a perfect score of 50, but was not enough to take down Mitchell.

Dallas Mavericks rookie Dennis Smith Jr. earned the first 50 of the night with a between-the-legs, 360-degree dunk for but did not advance out of the first round. Also, former DeMatha standout Victor Oladipo of the Indiana Pacers couldn’t impress the celebrity judges, failing in the opening round largely because he missed all three attempts for his first dunk.

Devin Booker is your Three-Point Contest winner, and he’s the new record holder, too. Twenty-eight! Granted, he was helped by the contest’s new format, but it was a lights out showing all the same.

Here’s our live blog from Saturday’s contest.

9:23 p.m. — Here’s highlights from Booker’s historic rack.

And his final score.

9:22 p.m. — Booker nailed 20 of the 25 threes, which ties an all-time record, while his scoring — helped by the moneyball racks — is the best ever. Craig Hodges and Jason Kapono both scored 25-of-30 under the old format, to give an example of who Booker was going up against. But on Saturday, Booker was flames.

He was my predicted winner, too. This is why they pay me the big bucks, folks. No one else predicted that Booker would win this. (Correction: many, many people predicted that Booker would win this.) Ignore that correction. I’m a genius, is the takeaway you should have from this.

9:18 pm. — Devin Booker with a Three-Point Contest record, recording 28. Steph and Klay both have had 27 before, but Booker’s the new record holder.

9:14 p.m. — Wow, Tobias Harris had this — and then he couldn’t hit on his moneyball rack and the final one, just one of his final nine shots. It might be because he was shooting actual jumpers, really lifting off the floor, which truly wears you out. He finishes with 18, one less than the first round.

9:09 p.m. — Eric Gordon hit just 1-of-5 on the moneyball rack, which he strangely put at the top of the arc. As mentioned by the broadcast, maybe he should have scooted back a little bit — the Rockets shoot more deep threes (threes in general, but especially deep threes) than anyone else in the league.

There will be no Gordon repeat.

9:07 p.m. — Klay Thompson with 19! That knocks off Wayne Ellington. And man, he was cutting it extremely close on the final one, really taking his time. I like that, and once again I like that he put his moneyball rack last. Take advantage of the corner.

9:05 p.m. — This just dawned on me but WHY ISN’T JOE INGLES IN THE THREE-POINT CONTEST

9:04 p.m. — Yikes, Bradley Beal. Just 1-of-10 in the first two racks. And he hit four of his five on the moneyball rack, but it still wasn’t enough. He’ll miss the second round, too.

9:03 p.m. — Kyle Lowry ain’t got it, either. He finishes with just 11, and this is his third straight year participating and failing to reach the second round. But shoutout Jason Kapono, the only Raptor who has actually won a Three-Point Contest, and a personally favorite of mine. (How can you not be a Jason Kapono fan.)

8:57 p.m. — My pick, Booker, rattles off for 19. He’s leading at the commercial break. I really dig that he picked his moneyball rack to go last, which is where he shoots the best and also takes advantage of a shorter three-point line. On the other hand, I get why NBA players are hesitant to do that — they don’t want to put it first, where they might still be warming up, and they don’t want it last, where they might be rushing.

Here’s more on moneyball rack strategy.

8:55 p.m. — Paul George ain’t got it tonight. This one was waaaay off.8:53 p.m. — Wayne Ellington starts slow but finishes really strong. He has 17, one shy of Harris.

8:50 p.m. — Tobias Harris with an 18!?! He could have had more, too, but missed his entire final rack with two airballs. He’s shooting jump shots which could wear out his legs, but 18 is a number that should get him into the next round.

8:45 p.m. — I actually like this new camera, which is supposed to show where within the rim that the shots are going in. Could you imagine this used at a college level at some point, for prospect evaluation? Knowing that a shooter who has good mechanics only hits 30 percent on triples but rims out 25 percent more might encourage teams to think that they can turn him into an NBA-level marksman.

8:44 p.m. — Give me Devin Booker for the win, because that’s always a good bet.

Before the event

The NBA is saturated with some of the best three-point shooters in the world. Those players can bury shots from beyond the arc with ease. Now, the best of the best will compete in the NBA Three-Point Contest during NBA All-Star Weekend. TNT (live stream) will broadcast the competition at 8 p.mETon Saturday.

Last year, Eric Gordon put on a shooting clinic and won the contest, and he will be back to defend his championship on Saturday. But he’ll have some stiff competition to get through, such as Klay Thompson, who won the Three-Point Contest in 2016.

A jam-packed second weekend to the Winter Olympics included Team USA hockey playing Russia in the morning and in the primetime schedule, men’s slopestyle skiing and men’s giant slalom.

Team USA had a disappointing 4-0 loss to Russia, dropping Team USA to 1-2 in Group B play. The U.S. must now play in the qualification round Tuesday, while Russians finished first in the group and move on directly to the quarterfinals, hoping their dominance puts T.J. Oshie’s shootout performance in 2014 further in the rearview mirror.

Nikolai Prokhorkin #74 of Olympic Athlete from Russia celebrates after scoring a goal in the first period against the United States during the Men’s Ice Hockey Preliminary Round Group B game on day eight of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Hockey Centre on February 17, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea.

OAR completely dominated zone control throughout the game, and that’s where Team USA needs to get better. If the Americans can’t start to control the puck, they have no chance whatsoever of advancing to quarterfinal play.

The thing is, this team wasn’t expected to bring home the gold. Losing NHLrepresentation crippled Team USA, especially so late in the cycle, hearkening back to the Miracle on Ice days — but that was called a miracle for a reason. The American team, frankly, isn’t that good this year. Gary Bettman’s decision to keep NHL players out of the Olympics was already controversial, but after this showing there’s a very real chance we’ll see people harassing the NHL commissioner to bring them back to the Olympics, whether that’s realistic or not.

The team inspired some hope early on, going up 2-0 on Slovenia in the first game of group play. Team USA then gave up three unanswered goals, including the overtime game winner. Team USA then won 2-1 against Slovakia, inspiring further hope for the group. However, OAR’s Nikolai Prokhorkin quickly dashed that hope, scoring two goals for Russia before former NHL star Ilya Kovalchuk slammed the door shut for a 4-0 Russia win.

The reason is simple: This team finished behind Slovenia in group play. That’s not good. In a group with Russia, Slovakia and Slovenia, Team USA was hardly in a Group of Death. But it still finished in third place, because it’s a teddy bear as well. It’s hard to blame the players. They’re nearly 30 years old in average age, and they’re fielding some of the United States’ oldest Olympians across any discipline. It’s a difficult situation, period.

So what’s next for Team USA? An elimination game, technically. Between Monday night and Tuesday morning, the first round of the playoffs will be played. However, Team USA needs to think about the bigger picture too. The first step is to recruit younger talent. Presuming that the NHL continues to keep players out of the Olympics, the only way to get another Lake Placid will be to recruit players that can handle the strain of the Olympics. That’s not to say that the current team is somehow out of shape — it’s just old. And as long as players from the Kontinental Hockey League are allowed to represent Russia, the 4-0 gulf will be apparent.

This team might not medal, but it’s certainly giving a lot to think about moving forward. And it isn’t out yet, there’s still hope. But it’s a longshot. And if Team USA fails to make the quarterfinals or, worse, gets routed on Monday night/Tuesday morning, then fans (and NHL players, for that matter) may be fairly vocal in letting the country’s best represent the country. Because four goals in group play isn’t going to cut it if you want to field a team with any chance at a medal.

7:45 p.m.: Medal count so far

Going into Saturday, Norway still dominated with 22 medals. Team USA and Russia were tied with 9 medals each.

“When most people think of North Korea, we think of Kim Jong Un, rockets, missile launches,” said Peter Kim, an American-born assistant professor at Kookmin University in Seoul. “To put our hands around other things beyond what we see in the media, it’s really next to impossible.”

'Peace Village,' a fake city just outside the DMZ, serves as metaphor for North Korean athletes at the Olympics